1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tape printer for printing data containing a desired character string as well as other characters onto a tape medium and, more particularly, to a tape printer which can display the status of various aspects of the tape printer""s operation.
2. Description
Tape printers have been marketed which can print a desired string of characters and other symbols onto a tape medium. As is publicly disclosed in Japanese patent document Nos. Hei 4-163080 and Hei 5-28247, some tape printers can facilitate operation by displaying the current status of various printer functions. Since most available tape printers incorporate both data input and printing functions in a small body and can be operated easily, they are used widely in Japan and in several other countries. The fonts and other symbols used for printing are common to many tape printers. However, the displayed messages which indicate printer status and operations guidance are different in each country. Since different display contents are required for markets in which different languages are spoken, the number of different kinds of tape printers which must be developed and manufactured corresponds at least to the total number of languages spoken in the markets in which such tape printers will be sold.
Recently, usage of these tape printers has increased dramatically and there is, therefore, an increasing demand for tape printers which provide useful messages on a display screen in languages which are convenient. These messages facilitate the operation of the tape printer and provide information regarding system status in order to improve usability. However, the currently available tape printers are designed for a particular linguistic area and this requires significant involvement in each process of manufacturing, distribution and sales, with such additional work driving up the price of the tape printers. Users prefer to purchase tape printers which employ a convenient language, however, a tape printer which employs the desired language may not be easy to obtain, due to complicating factors such as high price or slow delivery time.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tape printer which supplies useful system messages in which a pleasant and convenient environment for each user can be created easily according to the particular requirements of the user. Another object of the present invention is to provide a tape printer which can be manufactured and supplied at a lower cost.
In the tape printer provided according to the teachings of the present invention, a feature is included which provides for the display of messages in two or more languages. Therefore, users can select a convenient language from among the languages provided in the tape printer so that they can easily comprehend displayed messages. The tape printer of the present invention prints input data on a tape printing medium and comprises input means for entering the data to be printed, display means for displaying the data entered by the input means, memory means for storing the data and the system status of the tape printer; operations guide display means for displaying warnings, system status, and unauthorized operation indicators; and language selection means for selecting a language to be used for displaying the information to be displayed by the display means. According to the tape printer provided for in the present invention, the manufacturer needs only to develop, manufacture and sell one kind of tape printer to handle several different languages, and can thereby save the time and money necessary to develop machines for each individual language. The present invention is also of significant benefit to the users, who are able to operate the tape printer by reading the messages as expressed in a user-specified convenient language. Furthermore, these printing units can provide a machine capable of displaying messages in languages which may not be common to the particular area in which the tape printer is sold.
In order to provide the tape printer which can easily change the language used for expressing the system messages, it is preferable to install in the tape printer a storage table in which of a plurality of messages expressed in two or more languages can be stored and addressed and a means for selecting a desired message from the table based on numbers allocated to the respective language and desired message. The message displayed may be selected using address tables which store the addresses of the language tables and the corresponding messages to be displayed. During a process which selects a message to be displayed, the message address is calculated using the number allocated to the individual language, and then the address of the individual message is calculated and the appropriate message is selected. In the tape printer described above, the language selection means is provided to select the desired language, and messages expressed in that language may then be displayed on the tape printer The language selection means is activated under various conditions such as the operation of a key in the input section specifically used for starting the selection process, a combined operation of a power supply key with another key or keys of the input means, or at the time when the power supply is initially turned on. In addition, the language selection means may have functions for changing various other items which might be different in different countries or their regions. For instance, the tape printer of the present invention can allow the user to select the units in which lengths and weights are expressed.